Something good is cooking at Boracay Garden ResortBY JOSEPH TORRES
Boracay may be more familiar worldwide as a beach destination, but foodies are slowly starting to take notice of the diverse culinary selections available on the island. No matter what you fancy, you will surely find it here: Indian, Italian, Spanish, Thai, Greek, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and more. Wherever you look, food is to be had from either a restaurant or a beachside kiosk. So, there really is no excuse to load up before going out to party.
Over at the Boracay Garden Resort (www.boracaygarden.com.ph), something new is cooking after the Boracay Regency Group took over the former Hotel Seraph in December last year. Along with a gradual renovation of the premises, now 25-percent complete, the resort is undergoing an improvement of its food-and-beverage menu that would reflect the needs of its market that is largely Korean, Chinese and European. Boracay Regency’s Henry Chusuey says they are beefing up its food lineup to offer guests the variety they are looking for. Before the takeover, the Seraph was known as a Korean hotel. Its food-and-beverage offering was largely Korean, too.
The Boracay Garden Resort has 201 spacious reasonably priced rooms. Located at Station 2, it has direct access to Boracay’s white-sand beach via a convenient walkway. It also boasts pools that are directly accessible from most rooms. There are 18 rooms with exclusive access to a private pool area, while another large-sized pool is available for other guests. Apart from its pools, the resort is known for its gardens. It has a playground for kids, while guests using the pools can lounge on cabaña chairs that lie in the garden area.
Chusuey says Boracay Garden Resort offers exactly what it promises its guests: rooms that are bigger than in most resorts in Boracay, charming ambiance and value-for-money prices. Even when renovation at the resort has been completed, he says they will most likely retain its value-for-money character.
“When you price yourself too high, people will look for what they paid for,” he explains.
The major change affects the resort’s exterior. Its colorful look of old has been gradually tamed with beige-colored bricks. Rooms are being redesigned with the present heavy wood furniture in mind. It is the furniture that reminds you of its Korean provenance. With occupancy almost negative on weekends, a change in the hotel’s F&B service was imperative. Chusuey says a new restaurant will open within the resort within the year, while changes on the menu have already been introduced.
Presently, the resort has its Garden Café, where guests are served buffet breakfast, a KTV bar and the pool bar, where they can order drinks as they enjoy the pool. Mario Gatmaitan, Boracay Garden Resort’s F&B manager, says the old Korean menu has been beefed up to have more Filipino and international items. He says they constantly ask resort guests for comments on the food and service, while they are also open to suggestions.
Not surprisingly, since Boracay is a beach destination, most of their guests look for seafood. That’s why their entrée offering is often a combo meal that includes meat and fish. The resort’s signature dish is its Surf ‘n’ Turf, a combination of filet mignon and prawn thermidor.
To promote Philippine cuisine, a number of regional dishes are now on the menu. Some of the new items include Binacol Soup (soup of native chicken prepared with coconut water); Inubaran (banana pith cooked with shrimps in coconut milk), Adobong Hipon sa Aligue, Lauya (a stew of meat and vegetables); Sinaing na Isda (fish steamed in banana leaf); Kalderetang Kambing, Sisig with Mayonnaise; Liempo Inasal; and Fried Itik Szechuan-Style.
Gatmaitan has also innovated on a number of favorites, both local and international, to give them variety. For example, the Squash Bisque Soup is a blend of shrimps, carrots and squash in coconut cream. The Crispy Shrimp Ukoy is served with a siding of ampalaya salad to contrast with the salty shrimp fritters. The Pork Belly Inasal is accompanied by a mango salsa rather than the usual tomato-and-onion relish.
If you want to experience Boracay Garden Resort’s brand of hospitality and try out its new menu of international and Filipino favorites, why not avail yourself of a special Boracay package? It presently has a tie-up with Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair, www.flyseair.com) for its Boracay Free and Easy Package.
The promo, available until October 15, is priced at P8,310 per person for double occupancy, and P7,551 per person for triple occupancy. The package includes roundtrip airfare from Manila, Cebu or Clark, three-day accommodation, daily breakfast and land-and-sea transfers.
Over at the Boracay Garden Resort (www.boracaygarden.com.ph), something new is cooking after the Boracay Regency Group took over the former Hotel Seraph in December last year. Along with a gradual renovation of the premises, now 25-percent complete, the resort is undergoing an improvement of its food-and-beverage menu that would reflect the needs of its market that is largely Korean, Chinese and European. Boracay Regency’s Henry Chusuey says they are beefing up its food lineup to offer guests the variety they are looking for. Before the takeover, the Seraph was known as a Korean hotel. Its food-and-beverage offering was largely Korean, too.
The Boracay Garden Resort has 201 spacious reasonably priced rooms. Located at Station 2, it has direct access to Boracay’s white-sand beach via a convenient walkway. It also boasts pools that are directly accessible from most rooms. There are 18 rooms with exclusive access to a private pool area, while another large-sized pool is available for other guests. Apart from its pools, the resort is known for its gardens. It has a playground for kids, while guests using the pools can lounge on cabaña chairs that lie in the garden area.
Chusuey says Boracay Garden Resort offers exactly what it promises its guests: rooms that are bigger than in most resorts in Boracay, charming ambiance and value-for-money prices. Even when renovation at the resort has been completed, he says they will most likely retain its value-for-money character.
“When you price yourself too high, people will look for what they paid for,” he explains.
The major change affects the resort’s exterior. Its colorful look of old has been gradually tamed with beige-colored bricks. Rooms are being redesigned with the present heavy wood furniture in mind. It is the furniture that reminds you of its Korean provenance. With occupancy almost negative on weekends, a change in the hotel’s F&B service was imperative. Chusuey says a new restaurant will open within the resort within the year, while changes on the menu have already been introduced.
Presently, the resort has its Garden Café, where guests are served buffet breakfast, a KTV bar and the pool bar, where they can order drinks as they enjoy the pool. Mario Gatmaitan, Boracay Garden Resort’s F&B manager, says the old Korean menu has been beefed up to have more Filipino and international items. He says they constantly ask resort guests for comments on the food and service, while they are also open to suggestions.
Not surprisingly, since Boracay is a beach destination, most of their guests look for seafood. That’s why their entrée offering is often a combo meal that includes meat and fish. The resort’s signature dish is its Surf ‘n’ Turf, a combination of filet mignon and prawn thermidor.
To promote Philippine cuisine, a number of regional dishes are now on the menu. Some of the new items include Binacol Soup (soup of native chicken prepared with coconut water); Inubaran (banana pith cooked with shrimps in coconut milk), Adobong Hipon sa Aligue, Lauya (a stew of meat and vegetables); Sinaing na Isda (fish steamed in banana leaf); Kalderetang Kambing, Sisig with Mayonnaise; Liempo Inasal; and Fried Itik Szechuan-Style.
Gatmaitan has also innovated on a number of favorites, both local and international, to give them variety. For example, the Squash Bisque Soup is a blend of shrimps, carrots and squash in coconut cream. The Crispy Shrimp Ukoy is served with a siding of ampalaya salad to contrast with the salty shrimp fritters. The Pork Belly Inasal is accompanied by a mango salsa rather than the usual tomato-and-onion relish.
If you want to experience Boracay Garden Resort’s brand of hospitality and try out its new menu of international and Filipino favorites, why not avail yourself of a special Boracay package? It presently has a tie-up with Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair, www.flyseair.com) for its Boracay Free and Easy Package.
The promo, available until October 15, is priced at P8,310 per person for double occupancy, and P7,551 per person for triple occupancy. The package includes roundtrip airfare from Manila, Cebu or Clark, three-day accommodation, daily breakfast and land-and-sea transfers.
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